Program

• Presentation  |  Panel Discussions  |  AR and VR Media  |  Social conclusion with the artists
• 8 November 2023  |  19:30 CET
• Venue: Schubert Theater (Waehringer Strasse 46, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

Thanks to the inspiring enthusiasm of our project partners, exciting and enchanting art projects were realized under the title "aaron's law" from 11 January to 8 November 2023. On Aaron Swartz's birthday, we will come together to reflect on the various approaches and show some of the works created.

Aaron's life was shaped, among other things, by the struggle for free access to knowledge. His convictions and core values are still of great importance in scrutinizing real and virtual worlds. What bad habits do we discover in both worlds and how do they limit our individual and artistic resources? To what extent does this apply to digital art, and what can be done about it? We will also discuss that on this evening.

The event will be held in German.

• Video: Presentation & Panel Discussions (in German)
• Presentation: aaron's law - 2023 (in German, 1.32 MB)

• Film Screening & Discussion
• 18 October 2023, 18:00 CEST
• Venue: Spektral (Lendkai 45 / Top 1, 8020 Graz, Austria)

"The Internet's Own Boy" by Brian Knappenberger was first shown at the Sundance Festival in 2014 and tells Aaron Swartz's amazing and deeply tragic life story. The screening will be followed by a discussion about the film and mur.at's activities with Ricardo Ginés (mur.at's Artist in Residence 2023), Wouter Moraal (media artist and cybersecurity consultant), Andreas Zingerle (mur.at) and other guests.

• Exhibition
• 6-10 September 2023  |  10:00-19:00 CEST
• Venue: POSTCITY (Waldeggstrasse 41, 4020 Linz, Austria)

All three parts of this exhibition deal with transformation and metamorphosis by tracing Aaron's remarkable path of life: "Insight:Aaron" by Schubert Theater Wien shows the evolution of an analogue puppet into a digital 3D scan; "Why I Am Not Gay" by Günther Friesinger features four AI-generated images of a portrait of Aaron Swartz; and the net:art coordination center presents the progress of its project series using videos and podcasts - for example, the documentation of mur.at's international Worklab 2023. 

• Outdoor Station Theater
• Every weekend in June 2023  |  Saturdays at 16:00 CEST  |  Sundays at 11:00 and 15:00 CEST
• Meeting point: Schubert Theater (Waehringer Strasse 46, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

In its third "Walk for the Figure", the Schubert Theater takes on visionaries, pioneers and dreamers. We will meet entrepreneur Anna Demel, Austrian-American film actress Hedy Lamarr, inventor and mystic Nikola Tesla, programmer and hacktivist Aaron Swartz, and sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. In cooperation with the Artificial Museum, one station will be shown as Augmented Reality (AR) - so don't forget your smartphone or tablet with internet access.

The events will be held in German. If it rains, the respective date will be postponed.
Please register in advance, as a walk can only take place if there are enough participants.

• Public Presentation  |  Workshop & Presentations
• 21-25 June 2023
• Venue: KiG! - Kultur in Graz (Lagergasse 98a, 8020 Graz, Austria)

mur.at's worklabs create a temporary space in which artists (= specialists in the field of technology, design, art, etc.) and external guests can discuss topics from the field of digital technology, art and its social implications. In 2023, participants such as Wouter Moraal, Martin Nadal, Ricardo Ginés and mur.at members will work together on the annual theme "Tribute to Aaron". Aaron Swartz was fascinated by the topic of archiving in the context of Open Access and Open Source. So is Artist in Residence Ricardo Ginés, whose project "Why is archiving so (un)sexy again?" will explore today's challenges of archiving.

All presentations and workshops are in English and will be held offline or sometimes in a hybrid form. To participate and receive more information please sign up for all workshops at worklab (at) mur.at.

• Video: mur.at Worklab WrapUp
• Video: Why is archiving so (un)sexy again? -
  FLOSS archiving tools for organisations
• Podcasts "Netzrauschen": Worklab 2023
• Podcasts "Netzrauschen": #20  |  #22  |  #23

• Exhibition
• 24 June 2023, 18:00 CEST: Opening & Presentation
• 25 June - 13 August 2023  |  Saturdays & Sundays, 14:00 - 18:00 CEST
• Venue: Schloss Wolkersdorf  |  Galerie 2  (Schlossplatz 2, 2120 Wolkersdorf, Austria)

An exhibition with representatives of the Austrian net and media art scene who developed projects during Aaron Swartz's lifetime. What paths did they take, what do they think and produce today? A homage to Aaron Swartz and his questions and suggestions on open access, open source, creative commons and net neutrality that are still relevant today.
Curators: Andrea Sodomka, Renate Kreil
Artists: Ursula Hentschlaeger, Zelko Wiener (1953‐2006), Norbert Math, Günther Friesinger

• Video: "Aaron's Crosstalk" by Norbert Math
• Video: Exhibition AARON'S LAW
• Flyer: Exhibition AARON'S LAW  (PDF, 253 KB)
• Essay by Günther Friesinger (in German):
  Open Culture: Warum wir eine Offene Kultur brauchen

• Aaron Swartz on the radio
• 24/7 from May 2023
• Venue: COSY | Cooperative Systems Research Group (Sensengasse 6, 1090 Vienna, Austria)

Since the end of May, there has been a poster on a window of the COSY lab (Faculty of Computer Science, University of Vienna). It marks the opportunity to listen to Aaron Swartz within a radius of 3 metres.

How does it work? A small FM transmitter broadcasts lectures by Aaron Swartz from inside the lab. Passers-by position themselves in front of the poster with a radio or mobile phone with radio reception, tune it to 101.0 MHz and off they go. Take a break at Sensengasse 6 and listen to one of the Internet's visionaries!

Location: https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/431281839

• Performance "Glitch Kitsch" by kollektiv kunststoff
• 22-24 March 2023, 10:30 CET and 24 March 2023, 19:00 CET
• Film & Discussion "The Internet's Own Boy"
• 28 March 2023, 10:00-12:00 CET
• Venue: Dschungel Wien (Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, Austria)

kollektiv kunststoff describes their production (aimed at children and teenagers, age 11+): "Welcome to the data net! Take your controller in your own hands and travel with us into a world between visibility and invisibility, reality and fiction, fact and fake." In addition to this performance, we will discuss the life and work of Aaron with our young audience (age 13+) on the basis of the film "The Internet's Own Boy".

• Film: "The Internet's Own Boy"

• Presentation "aaron's law"  |  Future Talk  |  Vernissage Museum Spaces
• 1 February 2023  |  18:00 CET
• Venue: Schubert Theater (Waehringer Strasse 46, 1090 Vienna, Austria) & Livestream

In its second Future Lab, the Viennese puppet theatre "Schubert Theater" will be looking at the future of theatre. At the opening event, our project series "aaron's law" will be presented, followed by a discussion on "Art & Culture as a Human Right & Common Good in the Digital Age". Afterwards, you are invited to a specially developed museum space of Schubert Theater's Virtual Puppet Museum, where you can experience the production "Insight:Aaron" by media artist Ilkhan Erdogan and puppet designer Annemarie Arzberger. Don't miss this exciting exploration of the person and work of Aaron Swartz! At the vernissage, you can try out a tour with VR glasses live on site or join in online.

The event will be held in German and streamed live on the Schubert Theater's YouTube channel.

• Review: Program Presentation
• Review: Future Talk
• Trailer: Virtual Puppet Museum

• Special Exhibition & Symposium
• 26 January 2023  |  19:00 CET and 27 January 2023  |  10:00-19:00 CET
• Venue: Stadtmuseum St. Poelten (Prandtauerstrasse 2, 3100 St. Poelten, Austria)

In the early 1990s and following forerunners such as Mailart, a new communicative space - the www - inspired artists to develop utopias for art taking place on the web. The thorough commercialisation of this once fully unoccupied space has pushed the early utopias to the background. Let’s bring them out again and catapult them into the 3rd millennium. Let’s recall the initial utopias, analyse the status quo and spin on!

The event is part of the DigiDic Exhibition and will be held in German.

• Review: Video Documentation

• How to attend
• 31 January 2023 (application deadline)

The netart & digital culture initiative "mur.at" in Graz/Austria offers a couple of virtual and one on-site Artist in Residence (2 months). This year's special focus is on digital artists / designers / programmers / hackers / activists / you-name-it who advocate for net neutrality, create and work with online archives and/or open licensing models.

• Artist in Residence 2023: Ricardo Ginès